Senior India Pacer To Play For Essex In Remainder Of County Championship Season

Umesh Yadav has been away from competitive cricket since appearing in the World Test Championship (WTC) final for India against the Australia cricket team in June.

Umesh Yadav last played an ODI against West Indies in October, 2018 almost 5 years back.

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One of the leading county cricket clubs in England, Essex has signed senior India pacer Umesh Yadav for remaining three games of the ongoing County Division One Championship. Yadav replaces New Zealand pacer Doug Bracewell, who has been ruled out due to injury. 35-year-old Yadav, who spent part of last season with Middlesex, will face them during his three-match stint for Sussex on September 4 at Chelmsford. Umesh has been joined by Simon Harmer as the overseas players in Sussex's strong bowling attack. Apart from them, Sam Cooke and Jamie Porter are also included in this team.

Expressing his happiness over, Umesh Yadav reportedly said via a press release:

"I am really pleased to join Essex and make what I hope will be some valuable contributions to the team's success this year. I enjoyed playing in England with Middlesex last season, and it will be good to return and test myself in those conditions again, especially in the midst of a title race."

Sussex is constantly troubled by the injury of players in the bowling department. Before Bracewell's sudden injury, Australian all-rounder Will Sutherland was ruled out mid-season with a back problem.

Reacting to the signing, Essex head coach Anthony McGrath said:

"Umesh is a superb signing for us, and we all know what he will be able to bring to our attack at a crucial time of the season. He is vastly experienced and has taken wickets at the top levels of the game for more than a decade now, so as well as contributing during our run-in, we hope he can pass on some of his wisdom to our young players too."

Umesh has been away from competitive cricket since appearing in the World Test Championship (WTC) final for India against the Australia cricket team in June. He played the last T20 cricket match for India against the South Africa cricket team in October last year. It has been a long time since he played ODIs. He last played an ODI against West Indies in October, 2018 almost 5 years back.